What is a Hail Mary?

Question

What is a Hail Mary? How would I do one? What are they used for? Is it only for Catholics?

Answer 1

'Hail Mary (Angelic Salutation)' (from the Latin Ave Maria (Salutatio Angelica), is a traditional Roman Catholic prayer calling for the intercession of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Rooted in Biblical texts, the Ave Maria developed in the Middle Ages; in this context, Mary is known as the Blessed Virgin. The prayer is also used by other denominations in the Catholic tradition, notably Anglo-Catholic members of the Anglican Communion.

The first part of the prayer is the salutation of the Archangel Gabriel as reported in the Gospel of Luke 1:28 "Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee". The second is from the greeting given to Mary by her cousin Elizabeth in Luke 1:42 "Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of your womb", and a reinforcement of basic Christian belief in the real divinity and real humanity of Jesus. The closing petition "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen." is stated by the official "Catechism of the Council of Trent" to have been "framed by the Church itself".

As a separate formula for Roman Catholic devotion, the "Hail Mary"— though a pious tale has it miraculously recited to Ildephonsus of Toledo—dates to the 11th century.

The Hail Mary is the essential element of the Rosary, a prayer method practiced primarily by Catholics, comprised of 4 sets of 5 Mysteries meditating upon the incarnation, life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Each of these Mysteries is prayed as a decade (ten), consisting of one Our Father (Pater Noster or The Lord's Prayer), ten Hail Marys, and one 'Glory Be' (Gloria Patri) (Doxology). It is also the central part of the angelus, a devotion generally recited thrice daily by Catholics, and some Anglicans and Lutherans.

One of the titles or sobriquets of Mary in Catholicism is Our Lady of the Rosary.

Answer 2

A Hail Mary is a Catholic prayer. It is as follows, "Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with you. Blessed are you amoung women and blessed is the fruit of your womb Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen"
The first part of the prayer is based on the angel Gabriel's greeting to Mary. The rest is not found in the Bible, but it is still a nice prayer.
Anyone could say a Hail Mary.

Answer 3

A hail mary is a long pass thrown at the end of a half in football. The offense is usually a long ways from the touchdown, and they throw the ball as high and as far as possible hoping someone on their team will come down with it. Catholics, or anyone can use it.

Answer 4

The Hail Mary is a prayer said only to Our Mother (Jesus mother when he gave her to us before he died on the cross), and because she is all so pure and holy, anything you ask of her, you will receive, because she never lets anyone down. The Hail Mary is not only for catholics, it is for the whole world.

Answer 5

The prayer goes like this:

Hail Mary, full of Grace
The Lord is with thee
Blessed art thou amongst women
And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary mother of God
Pray for us sinners - now and at the hour of our death... Amen.

On the rosary there are 3 sets of 10 beads signifying a 'Hail Mary' prayer separated by 1 bead for an 'Our Father' prayer...

If this seems strange then perhaps we should ask why we should pray to Mary when she was not 'divine' - just 'blessed.'

Truly God is the only one deserving of our prayers!

Answer 6

Hail Marys are for Catholics and football quarterbacks

Answer 7

'Hail Mary (Angelic Salutation)' (from the Latin Ave Maria (Salutatio Angelica), is a traditional Roman Catholic prayer calling for the intercession of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Rooted in Biblical texts, the Ave Maria developed in the Middle Ages; in this context, Mary is known as the Blessed Virgin. The prayer is also used by other denominations in the Catholic tradition, notably Anglo-Catholic members of the Anglican Communion.

The first part of the prayer is the salutation of the Archangel Gabriel as reported in the Gospel of Luke 1:28 "Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee". The second is from the greeting given to Mary by her cousin Elizabeth in Luke 1:42 "Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of your womb", and a reinforcement of basic Christian belief in the real divinity and real humanity of Jesus. The closing petition "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen." is stated by the official "Catechism of the Council of Trent" to have been "framed by the Church itself" [1].

As a separate formula for Roman Catholic devotion, the "Hail Mary"— though a pious tale has it miraculously recited to Ildephonsus of Toledo—dates to the 11th century. [2]

The Hail Mary is the essential element of the Rosary, a prayer method practiced primarily by Catholics, comprised of 4 sets of 5 Mysteries meditating upon the incarnation, life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Each of these Mysteries is prayed as a decade (ten), consisting of one Our Father (Pater Noster or The Lord's Prayer), ten Hail Marys, and one 'Glory Be' (Gloria Patri) (Doxology). It is also the central part of the angelus, a devotion generally recited thrice daily by Catholics, and some Anglicans and Lutherans.

One of the titles or sobriquets of Mary in Catholicism is Our Lady of the Rosary.


In American football, a Hail Mary pass or Hail Mary play is a forward pass made in desperation, with only a very small chance of success. The typical Hail Mary is a very long forward pass thrown at or near the end of a half where there is no realistic possibility for any other play to work, though the most famous were thrown at the end of a game. The phrase derives from the name of a prominent Roman Catholic prayer to the Virgin Mary. The point is that the success of such a pass is so unlikely that it would need divine intervention to work.

Many Catholic, Christian, Jewish, and even Athiest coaches use them. :-)

Answer 8

In the secular world a "hail Mary" is any act that is a "last gasp effort" one needing a lot of prayer to suceed

For those of the RC it is a penatence saying praising Mary

Answer 9

Athletes do Hail Marys all the time.

In football it is a last-stand desperation pass to the back of the end zone. You pray that one of you reeceivers gets the ball, for if it works, it's a miracle.

Answer 10

The Hail Mary is a prayer said to Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ.

It is not a prayer of worship. It is praising her for being the mother of God and asking for her to pray for us. It is a common misconception that Catholics worship saints and idols - the truth is, we believe that Mary and all the saints in Heaven are able to pray for us. Imagine you work at a fast-food restaurant as a cashier. Your immediate boss is a shift supervisor, his boss is a store manager, and his boss is a district manager. If you want a raise, you don't go directly to the district manager. You might start by asking your shift supervisor. Similarly, we sometimes do not directly ask God for a favor; rather, we pray that the saints in Heaven will ask God, because they are with Him and we hope that He will respond to their prayers on our behalf. Does that make sense?

You do not have to be Catholic to pray this prayer. Here it is for you.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee
Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Answer 11

it's a prayer. some ppl say it is not right to worship mary, but that's not what it is. when you pray a Hail Mary, you pray it with an intention (for example, ''help my little sister get well''). once you say the prayer, Mary prays to God for whaterer it is that you prayed for, so it isn't worshiping or even praying to Mary, it is pyaying through Mary. non Catholics can pray it, so here it is:

Hail Mary, Full of Grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.

Amen.